The coach looks back on Sporting CP's eighth consecutive win in Liga Portugal

After the final whistle in Sporting CP's victory over Casa Pia AC, coach Rúben Amorim analysed the match in a press conference. He began by commenting on the fact that his team had reached the milestone of 50 consecutive games in Liga Portugal scoring at least once.

“We have improved over the seasons in terms of the number of goals we've scored. We won the first title by defending better, conceding few goals but not scoring many. Then, we improved, which is down to the process, the quality and the characteristics of the players”, he told journalists, before analysing the difficulties caused by Casa Pia AC's strategy.

“We have to be prepared for everything and their strategy made it very difficult for us. With every cross we had no advantage, even with two men in the box. We let Daniel Bragança play in more of a free role, and that helped. Trincão was the freshest player on the team, Geny tried to push, but with so many defenders ahead of you it's difficult. On the other hand, their plan helped us, in the sense that our central defenders, Quaresma and Inácio, who are struggling for fitness, didn't have much work to do”.

“Nobody is happy watching games like this, especially the fans, but these are strategies that exist and I also understand the difference. Playing against lines of six are difficult, but it was Trincão's inspiration that unlocked the game”.

Explaining the strengths of some of the absentees in the game, especially in these types of more cagey matches, Amorim said that: “Viktor [Gyökeres] didn’t have many opportunities, but when we have the whole group available against low blocks, [Matheus] Reis can get involved a lot, Marcus Edwards is the best player for this, ‘Pote’ is another one, and we still have Morita and Dani. We can put in a second forward, bring in new wingers… It’s going to be a lot about wearing down the opponents, using new characteristics and being good at defensive transitions”.

“We performed up to standard in a very difficult game. I won't say that the result was better than the performance, because we had more chances to score. It wasn't as pretty, because a defensive line of six against four makes it very difficult, and I also felt a lack of energy”, added Amorim.

“Football has evolved a lot. Everything used to be very static and today it's harder to find the references. The characteristics of the players in these games make the difference”.

When asked about Conrad Harder's starting position and his substitution at halftime, Amorim stated that it was the result of the need to have “fresh players”, as well as allowing “Dani Bragança to be free and have two strong forwards to make the breakthroughs".

“Harder is very hungry, he wants to score, but that wasn’t the reason for his substitution, it was just a question of characteristics”.

On Franco Israel’s good form, he praised the Uruguayan goalkeeper’s maturity. “The number 1 goalkeeper is whoever is playing. You can see a lot of maturity in Franco, he’s prepared, just like Vladan [Kovačević], and Callai has also grown a lot. On performance, Franco is playing and he deserves it”, he added.

Bragança, who has scored in three consecutive games, also received praise from the coach. “Beyond the numbers, he is already a player with a different dimension. He has more physical ability, is able to reach the opposing goal and is stronger in physical contact. He is a different player and it would be very difficult for me to take Dani out now”.

Finally, Amorim commented that “We have a way of playing that is enjoyable for people. We have started the season well, we played well and we have to take a step forward in the more difficult games. We are doing an excellent job and we have always managed to maintain our consistency. We need the group in shape to win every game in every competition”.